In the grand tradition of other animated family sitcoms like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers has a few running gags — and they’re mostly pun-based. In its opening credits, there’s a different store with a pun name next door to Bob’s Burgers, a different exterminator with a pun name that pulls up outside the restaurant, and of course, in every episode, there’s a different burger pun written on a Burger of the Day chalkboard behind the counter. Over the years, they’ve gotten more and more obscure (and as a result, funnier). So, here are Bob’s Burgers’ 10 Best Burger Of The Day Puns, Ranked.
I Know Why the Cajun Burger Sings
This Cajun-spiced burger (which is probably delicious, if a little hot) is a hilarious spin on the poet Maya Angelou’s book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. And while it might seem disrespectful to name a Cajun burger after one of the most acclaimed autobiographies ever written, it could also be seen as a nod to Angelou, or an attempt to draw more attention to her work. This pun is notable for being one of the only Burger of the Day specials that doesn’t end with the word “Burger,” because it’s involved in the play on words, replacing “Bird.”
She’s a Super Leek Burger
A play on the catchy chorus from Rick James’ hit funk song “Superfreak” — arguably the song that made his career and that he is now best-known for — the She’s a Super Leek Burger comes with braised leeks. Leeks would be a strange choice to put on a burger, but then they go well with soup and pie, so why not put try them as a topping? Rick James was famously immortalized by an iconic Dave Chappelle sketch in which Eddie Murphy’s brother Charlie recounted a time when he met James in a nightclub and he punched him in the forehead, leaving an imprint with his ring.
Grandpa Muenster Burger
There are a couple of meanings to this pun. Obviously, it’s a play on the character from The Munsters, with the pun being that Muenster cheese will be put on the burger. But there’s a reason that Bob chose Grandpa Munster to be The Munsters character whose name he used for this burger as opposed to calling it, say, the Lily Muenster Burger or the Eddie Muenster Burger: seniors get a 10% discount on the burger. Offering discounts is a good business tactic, so Bob has the right idea here. It’s about time his burgers finally got the attention they deserve, anyway.
Texas Chainsaw Massa-Curd Burger
The Texas Chainsaw Massa-Curd Burger comes with cheese curds. Cheese curds are moist little pieces of curdled milk and they can even be eaten on their own as a snack. Obviously, the pun is on the movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, one of the earliest and most innovative entries in the slasher subgenre of horror cinema.
Tobe Hooper’s shock-filled classic is remembered for being one of the grisliest, goriest, most gruesome horror movies ever made, but by today’s standards, it’s relatively bloodless. It achieved with a couple of blood caplets what the makers of the Saw sequels have failed to do with gallons of fake blood.
Let’s Give ‘Em Something Shiitake ‘Bout Burger
The writers of Bob’s Burgers took the high road when they decided to pun around the shiitake mushroom, because they could’ve easily come up with a crude double entendre involving the word “s**t.” Instead, they played on the title of the Bonnie Raitt song “Something to Talk About,” which was made famous when Will Ferrell sang it for John C. Reilly in Step Brothers and Reilly said, “You have the voice of an angel. Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.” A burger with a big, wide, brown shiitake mushroom on it might not be particularly tasty, but it’s a fun pun.
Little Swiss Bunshine Burger
As advertised, the Little Swiss Bunshine Burger comes on a buttered bun (hence the “shine”) and presumably with a slice of Swiss cheese, too. This is a convoluted play on the title of the comedy-drama movie Little Miss Sunshine, which starred a young Abigail Breslin as a contestant in a child beauty pageant. Her parents, played by Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear, hit the road in a yellow bus to take her to the pageant, along with her brother (Paul Dano), her grandpa (Alan Arkin, winning an Oscar for his role) and her suicidal uncle, played by an uncharacteristically dramatic Steve Carell.
Bohemian Radishy Burger
This burger comes with radish and its name is a play on the Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which has seen a resurgence in popularity in the past few months after the release of the Oscar-winning Rami Malek-starring Freddie Mercury biopic of the same name. The movie quickly became far and away the highest grossing music biopic ever made, partly due to the promise of Queen music on the soundtrack. They’re one of the most beloved rock bands of all time, and since their tracks have a timeless quality, it’ll likely always remain that way. Hopefully, the same will happen with Bob’s Burgers.
It’s Fun to Eat at the rYeMCA Burger
This is easily one of the show’s most complex and layered puns to date, because in addition to “rye” standing in for the “Y” in “YMCA,” the other letters stand for ingredients, too. The It’s Fun to Eat at the rYeMCA Burger comes on a rye bun with mustard (“M”), cheese (“C”), and avocado (“A”).
And on top of that, it’s not even a word-for-word take on the lyrics from the song. Bob changed the lyric, which goes, “It’s fun to stay at the YMCA,” to “It’s fun to eat at the…” so it has yet another level to the wordplay.
Poutine on the Ritz Burger
The Poutine on the Ritz Burger plays on the old tune “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” with the promise of poutine fries on the side. Poutine was invented in Canada in the late ‘50s. They’re like regular fries, but covered in cheese curds and gravy, and they’re pretty delicious. This isn’t the first time that “Puttin’ on the Ritz” has been re-appropriated for comedic purposes. In Mel Brooks’ classic black-and-white spoof movie Young Frankenstein, in the scene where Dr. Frankenstein is showing off his monster, his demonstration of the monster’s abilities is a choreographed dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”
I Fought the Slaw Burger (and the Slaw Won)
The name of the I Fought the Slaw Burger (and the Slaw Won) is taken from the rock classic “I Fought the Law” by the Clash, which has the catchy refrain: “I fought the law / And the law won.” This pun gets bonus points for being a burger that people would actually like. While putting leeks or radish or curds on a burger might be easy to rhyme with and lead to an interesting pun, the burger itself might not necessarily be that great. However, a burger with slaw on it would be very popular with fans of slaw.
